Monday, September 14, 2009

Jackson-Clements
Ashlan Jackson and Bryan Clements were married Saturday, June 13, at Moon River Ranch in Satin. The Rev. Beau Hughes, pastor of The Village Church-Denton Campus, officiated.

Madelyn Evie Palmer
Jennifer and Ryan Palmer of Colleyville announce the birth of their daughter, Madelyn Evie Palmer. She was born Aug. 19. She weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces and was 19½ inches long. She has a brother, Mason Palmer. Grandparents are Beverly and Jim Fuller and Gloria and Butch Palmer. Great-grandmother is Evelyn Keeling.

Mr. and Mrs. Lowe
Harmon E. and Dorothy Lowe of Amarillo celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at Trinity United Methodist Church in Amarillo. The event was hosted by their children and their spouses.

Henderson-Hazel
Diane Rebecca Henderson and Michael John Patrick Hazel were married Saturday, Aug. 22, at Claxton Farm near Asheville, N.C. The Rev. John Gingerich, grandfather of the groom, and The Rev. Patrick Hazel, uncle of the groom, officiated.

Anna Renee Lee
Megan and Ron Lee of Waco announce the birth of their daughter, Anna Renee Lee. She was born June 2. She weighed 9 pounds, 10 ounces and was 22 inches long. Grandparents are Diane and Ron Lee and Susan and Dan Crittenden.

'Pomegranates': How life's events affect a family
"Traveling With Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story" (Viking, 282 pages, $25.95), by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor: A daughter graduates from college and plunges into depression as she searches for her true calling. A mother struggles to accept her own mortality and wonders how to help her daughter with problems that she can no longer kiss and make better.

Money guru mixes in faith
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - With the economy gasping for life last spring, about 1.3 million people gathered in 5,600 churches nationwide to behold the nation's leading prophet of personal finance.

Retailers resort to thinking small
NEW YORK - The Great Recession and Americans' retreat into thriftiness are teaching retailers a new lesson: How to survive when consumers are focused on "needs" rather than "wants."

No. 2 Texas 41, Wyoming 10
At Laramie, Wyo, Colt McCoy warmed up after a shaky start, and the Longhorns overcame poor special teams play and a bad first half.

Heloise: Use marker for purchase date
Dear Heloise: As we emptied my elderly parent's home in preparation for sale, we discovered that we spent a lot of time researching when appliances, furnace, water heater, etc., were installed.

Top-ranked Spearman girls prevail
The small-school division (Class 1A-3A) of the 38th Annual Amarillo Invitational cross country meet at Thompson Park on Saturday showcased a defending state champion girls team, an individual girls state champion, a third-place boys team and several state medalists.

Rangers, Mariners split
Ichiro Suzuki beat out an infield single to become the first player in major league history with at least 200 hits in nine straight seasons.

Hamilton says he may be back next weekend
ARLINGTON - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton felt much better Saturday after receiving two more injections in his back, and the All-Star is optimistic he will be able to return next weekend.

Trying to get by on less
At a time when families are trying to pay this year's bills with last year's paycheck, local governments and schools have drafted budgets that put them in much the same position.

Cost of jail food rising
After deciding he needed a break from the fast-paced world of restaurant life, Mitch Michel accepted a job that landed him behind bars.

Window on the Past: First Baptist's first home
Renovations continue all around the property as First Baptist Church on South Tyler Street prepares for its future in Amarillo. But there is a little white reminder of the church's historic roots sitting next door at 13th Avenue and Tyler Street.

The bottom line
Total tax bills vary by where a property is located, its appraised value, any exemptions and whether they are subject to the tax freeze for seniors and the disabled.

Poverty level rises in region
AUSTIN - In 2007, one of every four residents in Potter and Hall counties was poor, a rate twice as high as the rest of the nation. And in all likelihood the number of destitute people in those counties and in most of the Texas Panhandle increased last year.

Column - Jon Mark Beilue: Turning their lives around
Kristina Henderson and Rachel Fabela on Thursday were in a courtroom. Again. They stood in front of a judge as he spoke directly to them. Again. But what a difference a few years, a lot of help, and more importantly, their own determination to turn around disappointing lives can make.

Part Two: Investigation continues
The physical restraint of Michael Ray Nicholson by Donnell Smith at the Lubbock State School - now officially named the Lubbock State Supported Living Center - might have resulted in his June death, reports show.

It's all Trew: From gunslingers to skunks, varmints took toll on Dodge City
Of all the wild Western towns established on the early American frontier, Dodge City, Kan., was probably the wildest and the woolliest. Almost any description imagined or written about the town might well be true. The fact the town has survived and thrived could be the most astonishing story of all.

Sign moratorium to expire
The Amarillo City Commission soon will consider extending a moratorium intended to shut out problematic business signs while its appointed committee continues to draft new sign rules.

Cowboys, Bucs try to forget December
TAMPA, Fla. - After six years in Dallas, two-plus as the starting quarterback of a team that hasn't won a playoff game since 1996, Tony Romo knows a thing or two about the burden of high expectations.

Editorial: Speak now and hold your peace
U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, who had forgone town hall meetings during the congressional recess in August, is set to have two of them Saturday in his sprawling congressional district.

Letter: Compassion not a government responsibility
Has there really been such a paradigmatic shift in the very fabric of our culture that we should now choose to trade our forefathers hard fought independence for an enigmatic "compassionate" government?

Letter: Don't get the uproar
I am just not getting all the uproar over children listening to the president of the United States speak. My children are grown, but I would encourage my grandchildren to listen to him. What happened to respect?

Column - Mac Thornberry: Time for a 'second opinion'
WASHINGTON - The concerns and outright opposition to the health care reform bills moving through congressional committees have been loud and clear. People do not want government bureaucrats imposing themselves between doctors and patients and the intensely personal decisions that they make. They are very concerned about the cost and the enormous mountain of new spending that is being added to the debt that our children and their children must repay.

Trollin' on the River
Chatt Martin lives 10 minutes from Clinton Lake, one of Kansas' top crappie waters.

More anglers eating catch raw
MONTAUK, N.Y. - Capt. Edward Beneduci sits aboard. Hungry fishermen with a taste for fluke and gustatory adventure have raised the concept of fresh fish to a new level - they slice up their catch and eat it, raw, before the boat even returns to shore.

WT coach passes milestone
West Texas A&M soccer coach Butch Lauffer recorded his 400th and 401st career victories Sunday as the Buffs and Lady Buffs defeated Texas-Permian Basin at The Pitch on WT's campus.

WT offense struggles in loss
West Texas A&M didn't earn its initial first down until the four-minute mark of the first quarter in Saturday's 34-10 loss to sixth-ranked Central Washington at Ellensburg, Wash.

WT runners finish third
The West Texas A&M men's and women's cross country teams finished third at the Buffalo Stampede on Saturday at the WT Horse Center.